Crash Landing (Part 2)
by Pineapple Angel 14
Summary: A continuation of Crash Landing (Part 1) (a Doctor Who story). When Sarah-Jane Smith finds the Doctor on her doorstep, on the verge of death, how will she be able to handle the crisis...or will she? And, will Rose revive in time to save the Doctor...or will she revive at all? READ AND FIND OUT! (better than it sounds!) NOW COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

When the taxi pulled up in front of 13 Bannerman Road, the driver was very concerned. He was not necessarily concerned for the unconscious man in the backseat, with the bruised face, rather, he was concerned that he would have a problem dumping the body off somewhere where he didn't have to get involved in finding out who the man was, or why he was unconscious. He slid out of the car, glanced around, and then opened the back. "Come on mate… end of the line!" He grabbed his passenger's suit and dragged him out of the vehicle. The cabbie heaved the man's weight, on his shoulder and swiftly escorted him up the walk. When he got to the door, he peeked around, looking for anyone inside. Not seeing a sign of life, he leaned the thin sleeping stranger into the corner, in a sitting position, and rang the doorbell. As quickly as he had come, he ran to his taxi and drove off.

Luke Smith was surprised, when rounding the corner, onto Bannerman Road, to see a taxi speeding away from the direction of his house. Curious, he increased the speed of his walk and soon reached his home. He could sense something was wrong and raced up the walk, to the door, where he saw him sprawled on the pavement, by the door. "MUM!"

Inside the house, Sarah-Jane Smith was working on some equipment, in the attic, when her alien detecting watch started beeping out a frantic pattern. She was startled to see that there was alien activity on the property and was about to check the figures on Mr. Smith, when she heard her son shout from outside.

"LUKE!" She responded. Figuring that the alien was outside, and threatening her son, she raced down the stairs and to the door. She flung the door open, and was immensely surprised when the brown-suited man slumped into her entry way.

"Doctor!?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Doctor!?" Sarah Jane gasped and knelt over the still form of the time lord. "Doctor? can you hear me? Doctor?" She tried to shake him, and gently slapped at his face, but he did not rouse. "Luke, what happened?"

"I-I don't know, mum! I was just walking home from school, and I saw this taxi blazing away so I thought something was wrong. I came up the walk, and found him here! Is he alright, mum? I mean...is he…"

"He's alive, it seems...I don't understand this! What's happened to him!? Why did he come here? Where's Rose?" She shrugged away the questions of panic and switched into a mode of concentration and action. "Alright now, help me get him inside. We can't exactly leave him here in the doorway! Come on Luke."

"Right mum." He tossed his backpack aside and gently took up the Doctor's feet, while Sarah Jane lifted his torso. They stumbled back into the house and made their way to the nearby living room, where the placed him, as gently as possible, on a couch.

Sarah Jane's watch kept beeping, reporting alien life nearby, but she knew what, or rather who, that alien was, so she turned it off. Suddenly, a quiet whirring noise could be heard as the faithful robotic companion to both Sarah Jane and the Doctor came around the corner.

"ALIEN LIFE SIGNS DETECTED MISTRESS!" K-9 called.

"I know K-9! It's-" She began, but he interrupted, when he reached the couch.

"MASTER!" The dog rolled up next to the couch and waited near the Doctor's hand, to be recognized.

"Yes, K-9, the Doctor's come back, but something's wrong with him...can you do a scan on him and do a trial analysis to see what's possibly wrong?"

"YES, MISTRESS. ANALYZING, FULL BODY SCAN OF MASTER!" The wire antenna projected from his head, and a red scanning light enveloped the Doctor. "PROCESSING…PROCESSING...DATA AVAILABLE, MISTRESS!"

"Yes, K-9? Can you tell me if he's alright? How is his physical status?" She knelt between the couch and her dog, and placed a hand on the Doctor's hand, and the other on K-9.

"PULSE READING: SLOW….ONE HEART FAILING…. RESPIRATION: SLOW...TRACES OF EXTRA ALIEN LIFE SIGNS INTERNALLY...PROCESSING...PROCESSING… IN-HABITATION OF EMOTIREL LIFE FORMS… AND…." K-9 paused as if confused by the data.

"K-9? And what? What else? What is it! Access the data!"

"AND….BODY SYSTEMS FAILING...MASTER IS….IS…" K-9 again paused and his ears began twitching as if he were nervous.

"What is it K-9? What's wrong with you? You act as if you couldn't say something because of emotions, but your system doesn't process emotions in the same way...your purpose is to provide information, and that is what you must do. Now, what is it K-9. Tell me. The Doctor is, what?" Sarah Jane scolded the metal dog.

K-9's reply was sad and dejected. "IS….DYING…"


	3. Chapter 3

An hour had passed since the horrid announcement from the metallic dog. Sarah Jane had gone about making the Doctor comfortable and doing as much research as possible on the "Emotirel" that K-9 found in his body. After yielding no results, she resigned to sitting on the floor, by the couch, just watching him for any sign of life. Suddenly, he began to moan and holler, as if in a nightmare.

"ROSE! No…I'm sorry! I'm so sorry….Jackie…didn't…want her…to die…..no, Mickey! T'wasn't like that! No…" The Doctor whimpered with a sound of fear. His body twitched and turned in to itself, protectively, as if he were expecting blows upon himself.

Sarah Jane immediately placed a cool hand on his cheek and spoke urgently to him. "Doctor? Doctor wake up! You're asleep! It's just a dream! Doctor, it's Sarah! Please wake up!"

He stiffened suddenly, jolting awake, then with blurred and dazed eyes, he glanced up at his former companion. "S-Sarah? Sarah-Jane…?" He mumbled, confused.

"Yes, it's me, Doctor. You wound up on my doorstep this afternoon….you're very sick. What's the matter Doctor!? And where's Rose? Why isn't she with you?"

Partially ignoring her questions, the Doctor simply gave a sigh of relief. "Oh thank you….I'm so glad I was able to make it here...well...I wasn't really, fell in a taxi and passed out. M'lucky that the poor fool didn't take me back inside the hospital….."

K-9 interrupted. "ALERT MASTER! YOU HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO PARASITIC INFESTATION OF EMOTIREL!"

"Emotirel, then? That's what troubling me….or rather, my troubles are what's helping them! Oh this is bad….very bad…"

"What do you mean, Doctor? What is emotirel?" Sarah-Jane pleaded.

"Who."

"What?" She responded.

"It's not a what, it's a who...or whom….whatever, the point is, the Emotirel are an alien life form, not a disease. The Emotirel come from a planet called Emotiralian. It appears desolate and lonely, like a moon and they travel in great masses in a gaseous form, which explains why I didn't see them…" He began talking very quickly, talking mostly to himself.

"Doctor! Slow down! What are you talking about, "didn't see them?"" She stopped him.

With a sigh, he slowly sat up and addressed her. "The Emotirel are an odd race of alien. They feed and live off emotions. They induce a body into a dream-like state where they find and manifest the most profound emotion that the host is experiencing. They cause vivid dreams that prolong that state of emotion, so the longer the body sleeps, the longer they can feed. The Emotirel think they are being kind and are trying to help the host, but really, most often, only harm comes from that...symbiosis.. See, in many cases...as with mine...the host is experiencing pain or guilt, and in a sense, they want to die...and the Emotirel comply. They'll make you sick, and eventually kill you, in a form of distorted mercy. If you are happy, however, or have hope...then they will give you an elated bubbly feeling, put you into the best of health, and then leave you happy!"

"But wait, Doctor. You said in pain or guilty, like you...what's the matter, what happened?" Sarah-Jane asked.

He lowered his head in shame and sniffed back the tears that again threatened to fall from his eyes. "It….it's Rose...she….Well, the TARDIS crashed and she was...hurt… she hit her head and hasn't woken up. We landed on, what I thought was some sort of moon...but really that was where the Emotirel lived! I stepped out and fell asleep. That must've been where they infiltrated my body." The Doctor's speech was interrupted by a flash of pain that caused him to stiffen suddenly, with a groan.

"Oh, Doctor! Is there anything I can do? Any medicine? Treatment? How can we stop them!?" Sarah Jane begged, feeling completely helpless.

The Doctor looked at her through eyes brimming with tears. "Oh…my Sarah Jane.. I'm sorry…there's nothing you can do…nothing I can do…nothing anyone could do. They have no sense of a stopping point, other than life and death. If you are elated with joy, they'll lift you to an ultimate high, at which they will leave the body, since there is no more work to be done. And, the same way, if you are sick with guilt, pain, or anguish…they'll take you to your grave before they're through with you…" He reached up and placed a finger on her cheek, catching a tear that fell from her eye.

"But surely, then, you'll regenerate. Then they'll leave you alone…right?"

"How I wish that were true…but no. There would be no regeneration. The deep sickness brought on by the Emotirel would be thorough, no chance of escaping it. You must understand, they only do what their host wants them to do! So if somewhere internally, you want to die, then you will."


	4. Chapter 4

Back at the hospital...

It had been many hours since the Doctor had staggered out of the hospital, and Jackie was concerned about him. She sat dutifully by her daughter's bedside, brushing the hair out of Rose's face and thinking on both of them. Shortly after the examination, the hospital doctor had informed Jackie on Rose's condition. She had suffered a severe head injury and she was comatose because of it. Although her vitals wavered occasionally, she was fairly stable and seemed to be doing alright. Still, even with this news, Jackie was worried.

"Rose darling? Can you hear me, sweetheart? I love you.. You've got to wake up, baby.. there's something very wrong… I can feel it. Something's wrong…with the Doctor.. somehow I think only you can figure it out. As much as I hate to admit it…you're all he's got, and he needs you as much as you need him. I don't understand this feeling…I don't know…call it mother's intuition I guess, but I think he needs you. Mickey's no help now, he's about ready to kill him, and I don't think he's got anyone else…I really don't know what it is, but I do know this. You're alright, Rose and you've got to wake up now!" Jackie spoke softly to her daughter, with building intensity.

Almost immediately, Rose stirred, and in a mumbled groan, as if yawning awake from sleep, she murmured, "Doctor…"

"Rose? Rose wake up!" Jackie pleaded.

Rose blinked her confused eyes open and stretched with a yawn, "Mum? What are you doing here? What happened I was in the TARDIS with the Doctor and there was this horrid crash…then, here I am…wait, where am I?" She tried to sit up, but Jackie didn't let her get upright.

"No! Calm down sweetheart, take your time…you're in hospital. You're safe now. You're alright! The TARDIS apparently crashed somehow and you hit your head. You've been out for about 2 or 3 days…but you've only been back...on Earth…for about 6 hours."

"The Doctor! Is he alright? Can I see him? Where is he?"

"Take it easy, Rose!" Jackie scolded. "He's not here. He got you back and when Mickey saw how you were, he did some nice work to the Doctor's face and then stormed off. The Doctor came with me, taking you here, but he had to go…though if you ask me, something was wrong… He seemed pretty sick, and I haven't heard from him in hours! You stay put, I'm going to go tell the doctor…the hospital doctor…that you're awake."

The medical doctor checked out Rose's condition and was astonished to report that the signs of concussion were already passing, in a startling recovery. Though he advised that Rose stay in the hospital for observation; the anxious patient put up a fight, insisting that she had to go, and pointing out that she could not be forced to stay hospitalized. He reluctantly agreed and went out to get the "check-out" forms. Meanwhile, Jackie was still uncertain.

"Rose? Are you sure you should leave now? You've been unconscious for 3 days! The Doctor will be fine! He always is! And if he gets into trouble, he can regenerate, right?"

"No, the Doctor is not always fine! He says he is, but he's not! And alright, what if he does regenerate, how am I supposed to know it's him! And even if he was able to prove that he was The Doctor, I would have lost MY Doctor! I can't stand to lose him again! Now I'm going, and you can either help me find him, or just go home!"

Jackie was surprised by her daughter's outburst, but agreed to help. Shortly after, they left the hospital, with only one purpose in mind: To Find The Doctor.


	5. Chapter 5

Once outside, Rose made a beeline for a nearby public phone booth, in which she saw a phone book. She flipped through it quickly knowing exactly what she was looking for. "Here she is!" she proclaimed. "Sarah-Jane Smith. 13 Bannerman Road… alright…d'you bring the car, mum?"

"Yeah, but I don't know where that is… we should just take a cab." Jackie responded, while outstretching an arm to summon a passing taxi cab.

The car pulled up and both ladies slid in.

"Where to, ladies?" The driver asked.

"13 Bannerman Road, it's in Ealing." Rose answered.

"Alright miss! 13 Bannerman Road!" The driver replied cheerily.

Once they had begun moving, the mother questioned her daughter, "Alright now, where are we going?"

"To see Sarah-Jane Smith. She used to travel with the Doctor a long time ago. We ran into her once, when we were in London and she told me that if I ever needed help, to find her. And, with her past with the Doctor, and if he couldn't turn to any of us, it's possible he turned to her. Maybe she knows something. She's also got this robo-dog thing that the Doctor made. It's called K9 and he's like a real dog! Only he's a robot droid computer thing! Anyway, he's like some sort of super computer thing and he recognizes the Doctor…maybe he'd be able to track him or something…" She paused with a sigh. "Oh, I don't know, mum! I've got to start somewhere!"


	6. Chapter 6

It had been several hours since the Doctor had turned up on her doorstep and Sarah Jane was very worried. He had not shown any signs of improvement. On the contrary, he had been doing exactly as predicted, and was slowly getting worse and worse. One of his hearts had completely stopped beating and the other was going very slowly. He was pale and sweating with fever. His skin was damp and clammy. His breath came in airy, shallow gasps. He had been asleep for 2 hours without a single stir.

Despite her hopes, she knew her beloved Time Lord was dying. And there was nothing she could do to stop it. The only "cure" for this illness was laying unconscious in a hospital miles away. Or so she thought…

Suddenly, the door bell rang many times and there was an urgent knocking at the door. Sarah-Jane wanted to ignore it, but it was hard to put the racket out of focus.

"Mum! Someone's at the door!" Luke called from upstairs.

"Yes I know, Luke! I can hear them perfectly well!" She called back. "K9, go see who it is."

"AFFIRMATIVE MISTRISS!" K9 rolled into the entry way, and scanned a small computer screen next to the door, that showed a live video feed of the exterior of the house. He approached Sarah Jane again.

"Alright, who is it?"

"FRIENDS."

"What do you mean friends?"

"MY DATA MEMORY CHIP SHOWS ONE OF THE TWO HUMAN FEMALES AS A FRIEND.."

"Well, if you have her stored as a friend, then you must know who she is!" Sarah-Jane was growing exasperated.

"IT IS THE MISTRESS ROSE"

"What? Rose?" Sarah Jane stood, gaping.

"YES, MISTRESS… THE VISITOR IS MISTRESS ROSE TYLER…"

"Rose!" Sarah Jane ran to the door and threw it open. "ROSE! You're alright!" She grabbed Rose in a warm embrace.

Startled, but undeterred from her mission, Rose pulled away urgently and asked. "Sarah-Jane? Have you seen the Doctor? I think he's sick and I don't know where to look!"

"Yes! Yes! He's here! Oh Rose! I'm afraid he's not well at all!"

"What do you mean? He was fine enough earlier!" Jackie interrupted.

"And who might you be?" Sarah Jane retorted.

"I'm Rose's mum! You got a problem with that?" Jackie angrily spouted.

"No..I'm sorry. Well, come in, the both of you!" Sarah Jane ushered them in, and closed the door.

"But Sarah-Jane, what do you mean he's not well? He's alright isn't he? He's got to be! Where is he?" Rose pleaded.

"Oh Rose….I'm afraid he's dying. He said so… It seems when you crashed, he stepped outside and his body was infiltrated by these parasitic alien things, called Emotirel. And they harm or help their host's body, based on their thoughts and emotions. And because you were so sick, and dying…he was very very angry, upset…guilty.. and they're killing him! He said there was nothing we could do!"

"No! Where is he?" Rose stifled a sob.

"In there, in the living room…" Sarah Jane pointed the way and Rose ran to the couch with the ill Doctor on it.

Rose made a quick examination of her beloved Time Lord and looked up at the older women, with tears in her eyes. "One of his heart's stopped! He's barely breathing!" She turned down to him and placed her face near his. "Doctor? Doctor? It's me Rose! Everything's alright now! You listen to me Doctor! I'm alright! Wake up now Doctor! You better stop being sick right now or I'm not gonna go back out there with you! You hear me?" Rose pleaded and pleaded with him until she was crying too hard, to formulate words.

In the depths of the black oblivion the Doctor was in, he heard her voice, begging him to come back. He felt her hands on his body and her breath on his face. He felt her tears dampening his shirt. She was alive! She was back! Even in his unwell state, the Doctor could feel the presence of his companion, like the sun, shining through the dark. He stirred with a rough gasp and his eyes cracked open to see her. "R-Rose….?" He mumbled in a whisper.

"DOCTOR!?" She exclaimed. She grabbed him in a tight hug, smiling widely.

"Oh Rose…Rose…you're alright!" The Doctor blinked away a few tears and his bruised face spread into a large smile.

Suddenly, as Rose was pulling away from the hug, to look at him, a look of shock froze his eyes. His body shivered for a moment, and then he stiffened, rigidly. A deep gasping breath echoed from his throat, as if he could not breathe. His body began to glow in an odd gold and blue haze…and then…

Everything seemed to stop.


	7. Chapter 7

"Doctor!?" Rose shouted in fear. The actual life and emotion had seem to suddenly drain out of the Time Lord and his body became encircled in a cloud of blue and gold particles that made his body glow. The gold particles glowed around his skin, as if he were trying to regenerate, but the blue particles flew quickly around his body, as if they were trying to stop the regeneration from occurring.

Rose backed away in fear as the Doctor's body began vibrating in a fast, seizure-like motion.

"It's a battle.." A thoughtful voice sounded behind the three terrified women. They whirled around, startled.

"Luke? What are you doing there? How long have you been standing there?" Sarah Jane rushed to him, with a mother's concern. She knew he could handle it, but still she didn't want him to see, what she feared was going to be the Doctor's death.

"Long enough.." he replied.

"Oh Luke, please just go upstairs for now, I'll tell you when it's alright to come back…" Sarah Jane tried to usher him out of the room, but was interrupted by Rose.

"Wait, what do you mean "it's a battle"?" Rose approached him cautiously.

Luke stepped away from his mom and went towards the Doctor's couch, where he still lay, seizing. "The Doctor said he was infected by a whole colony of these Emotirel things….and they travelled in a gaseous cloud...well, that's what I think the blue cloud is. And, from what I gather when the Doctor regenerates, he glows all gold like he is now... The Doctor said that he would not regenerate and could not fight back, against the Emotirel, because he was so guilty and depressed, because of you. Now, he's dying, not just dying like he has been for the past few hours, but proper dying…" He paused as he knelt by the Doctor and through the colored particles felt the Doctor's wrist for a pulse. He then continued. "His other heart has stopped and he's stopped breathing. He's dead, but his body's not giving up, because now he doesn't want to die!"

Jackie intervened at this point. "Yeah! It's like how I was telling him earlier...you two complete each other and you need the other to keep on goin'! When he saw that you were alright again, he stopped wanting to die, and started wanting to live!"

"With the prospect of more of his fantastic adventures still to come, he had to keep living!" Sarah Jane added. "But...what now? You said he's dead, Luke? Why isn't he just regenerating then? And why are the Emotirel still hanging on to his body?"

"That's what I said...it's a battle. The Emotirel started to leave his body, because he reached the breaking point, where to them, he was dead, so they were moving on. But, as they were leaving, his body was restarting, he's trying to regenerate! Now, the Emotirel are struggling to keep him dead, and he's trying to stay alive. There's a clash in the emotions, he has been so guilty and depressed for so long, the Emotirel are strong, his will to live may not be strong enough to defeat them…"

Rose's mind was racing as she mumbled to herself, "He's got to want to live… we need to make him want to live...he's got to hold on!" She raced back to the couch and grasped his shoulder, pleadingly, while whispering in his ear. "Come on Doctor! It's Rose! You've got to fight it Doctor! You can't give in! You can't die Doctor! There are still so many things out there for us to see! So many wonderful, beautiful things! The world needs you! The universe needs you! _I _need you Doctor!" She sat back again, sobbing as it seemed the Emotirel were overtaking the gold regeneration glow. As she sobbed, she stuttered softly, "I...love you!"


	8. Chapter 8

Rose heard a collective gasp behind her, but didn't look up, because she was so upset. The tears continued to pour from her eyes and her body shook in repeated sobs. She felt a hand on her shoulder urgently shaking her, but she tried to shrug off.

"Rose! No listen darling! Look! Look at him!" Jackie pleaded with her to look up at the Doctor.

"What?" Rose fussed, indignantly. She looked up and gave a startled gasp at what she saw.

The Doctor's eyes were wide open and his body was stiff. His back arched as he gagged out a stream of gold regeneration particles. The glow around him brightened and the Emotirel's blue shone in an almost white light. Suddenly, they raised together, from his body and vanished. In a gag, he sank down, again, the gold light absorbed by his body. He breathed in a deep gasp of air, as his lungs kicked in again. Very quickly, the color in his skin changed from an ashy pale to his normal color.

Jackie, Sarah-Jane and Luke shouted in joy. Sarah-Jane grabbed her son in a loving hug, and they soon pulled Jackie into their celebratory embrace. The three paused to look down at Rose. She sat in the same place, unmoving. She was in a state of shock, as a smile spread across her face. "Doctor..?" She sobbed.

Unbelieving, she crawled over to him, and threw herself overtop of him. She continued to weep, but now in a joyous, happy way. Overjoyed, she held him in the tightest embrace possible.

"Me too… y'know.." A slurred voice muttered.

Rose froze in shock and pulled away from the Doctor. She stared, wide-eyed at him. "Doctor?"

"Who else?" He smiled a weak, yet powerful smile.

"What do you mean…you too?" Rose questioned.

"I must have dreamed it then…" he gave a provocative chuckle. "I could have sworn you said, you loved me… quite right too…"

"But, I did! Wait…you do? Really? Doctor!" Rose went from embarrassed to a sudden realization that he had just said in a roundabout way that he loved her. She again grabbed his weak frame in a tender embrace.

This time, he returned it with all his love as well. They pulled away, slightly, gazing into the other's eyes. With a single thought in both of their minds, they gently gravitated towards each other again, their lips finally locking for the first time, with all their love pouring out into each other.


	9. Chapter 9

Just as the kiss began to deepen. A loud sneeze rang out. Startled, they pulled apart, and all eyes in the room turned to Luke. He blushed, his hands over his mouth. "Um...sorry.." he murmured.

After a few seconds of awkward pause, the room erupted in laughter. Rose and the Doctor looked at each other with absolute joy in their eyes. Both of them had feared that they would never hear the other laugh again. Yet, here they were, both laughing together. The Doctor grew serious again and tearfully looked Rose in the eyes. He cupped her face with his hands and spoke. "Rose, I am so, so sorry that you were hurt. It was all my fault! I would never want to hurt you-"

"Shh! It's alright. I'm ok! It wasn't your fault, Doctor! You flew the TARDIS as well as you always do! You weren't in the console when she crashed, but there was nothing you could have done to prevent it! And I'm alright, and you're alright now, so everything will be ok. You just get some rest now, ok?" She wrapped a blanket around him.

Sarah-Jane approached. "I think that's a good idea. You need to get some rest too, the Doctor's not the only one who's been through a lot today...we all have. Now, we have room if you and your mum would like to stay here, or I could call a cab to take you home."

"I think they both just decided what they'll be doing tonight...Look!" Jackie chuckled and pointed at the couch.

Over on the couch, the Doctor had fallen back asleep with Rose's hand clenched in his own. She was snuggled up against the couch, her head resting next to his. She was nearly asleep. His blanket hung over her shoulders. Even in their slumber, they were both smiling.


	10. Chapter 10

Rose was drawn from a happy dream of traveling with the Doctor, when she heard someone whispering her name rather urgently. She felt something twitching under her cheek, where her head was resting. There was warmth there, so she didn't want it to leave. "Mm….what..? m'tired….sleep'n…." She mumbled back, not opening her eyes.

"I know you're tired sweetheart, but you're sleeping on my hand!" The Doctor whispered to her.

Startled in a realization of who was talking to her, and what he was saying, Rose jolted awake, and looked at him. "Doctor?"

"Hullo.. I wasn't going to wake you...'been watching you sleep for a few hours, but I can't feel my hand now...sorry…" He glanced warily at her, with concern.

"You cheeky alien! Why weren't you sleeping!? Why didn'tcha wake me? How long have I been out..?" Rose laughed at him. She lifted her head, to release his hand, but was startled when he snatched hers.

Smiling, he took her hand and gently kissed the back of it. His warm breath floated over her hand, making Rose giggle uncontrollably. He looked into her eyes with sincerity and whispered, "Thank you."

She smiled back and gave him a soft peck on the cheek. When she pulled away, she answered, "Same to you…" She sat up and stared at him seriously. "Now Doctor, to be serious for a moment. I know you, we've come close to_ 'this' _before but with you, you just fly off, as if it never happened and everything that matters is just passed over. We'll be off hunting aliens and stopping the ends of worlds, as if nothing ever happened. I just want to be sure...things are gonna be different between us now...right?

After a brief pause to choose the right words, the Doctor spoke. "You know.. I always say that we-humans, Time Lords, I suppose any living creature in the cosmos-we're all stories! And those stories make a book. And I think that it's high time, Rose Tyler, that we start another chapter in ours." He smiled at her. "Don't ya think, so?" He stood and extended his hand to her.

Taking the offered hand, she stood and looked at him. With a laugh she answered, "Yeah!"

"All right then! That's settled!" He replied. They grew quiet, just standing the, their eyes and hands locked. A warm smile was planted on each of their faces as they traced the other's thoughts. The Doctor stretched out his arms, inviting her closer. "Ah, come here, you!"

Laughing she snuggled into his warm embrace and they stood there for several minutes just feeling the other's presence and warmth close to them. "Love you Doctor…" she mumbled, her voice muffled by his shirt.

Smiling, he kissed the top of her head and returned the remark. "Same to you, Rose Tyler…"

She looked up at him and tugged at his shirt. "Doctor?"

He pulled himself from the happy elation of love, to pay attention to what she was saying, "Mm?"

"Doctor.. Could we just go now? Just save how we are now and go on with our lives?"

"What? Don't you want to say goodbye to your mum first? And what about Mickey? Won't he be upset? He was mighty upset when I brought you back to Earth, injured. He's bound to be even more angry when he finds that you and I've run off!"

"Yes, I know, but please? Can't we? Mum can handle Mickey and he'll cool off by the time we get back again! Please Doctor!?"

"Your wish is my command! Just let me pick up a bit, first!" Stepping away from her, he picked up the blanket that had been covering them and folded it. He placed it on the couch. Noting that his ever-present red converse had been taken off of his feet and set underneath the couch he sat and slid them on. Tying the laces with impossible speed, he hopped up, ready to go.

As quietly as possible, they snuck out across the house, to the door and gently opened it. With a sneaky smile to each other, they slipped out and slid the door shut behind them. Hand in hand, they rushed down the sidewalk to the road and began walking off. Suddenly a scolding voice rang out behind them.

"So you were just gonna sneak off like thieves in the night and not even say goodbye to your old mum?" Jackie stood there at the door of the house, arms crossed, angrily.

"Mum?" Rose looked up, startled as Jackie slowly made her way to them. "Sorry…I didn't want to wake you and.."

Jackie interrupted, "Nah, that's not true you sillies, I've been hearing what you've been talking about. 'Mum can handle Mickey?' Really?"

Rose flushed, embarrassed. "Sorry! But-"

This time, the Doctor interrupted. "Jackie? Were you eavesdropping?"

"Well, no, yeah...no! Not really! Honestly love, I wasn't trying to invade.. Just going to make a quick cuppa before going home. But you two! You silly lovebirds.. took you both long enough to come out and say it, eh? I've known what was gonna happen from the very start… And you say you know the future and all that? Ha!"

The Doctor squirmed. "You knew? What? We just- ah...I guess a mother's eyes see clearer than the eyes of one in love." He smiled and put his arms around Rose.

"Oi! Stop it you two! I'm happy for you, but I don't want to watch you!" Jackie objected to their PDA. "Come on, I'll drive you back to the flat, that's where you left the TARDIS. I had my car brought 'round last night. It's just over here."

They agreed to the lift and Jackie drove them back to the alley by her home. The drive took around 20 minutes, but as she drove, they were content to snuggle in the back. Just holding the other and feeling their warmth was enough to make them happy. For them, the drive ended all too soon and they were forced to get out.

As they stood there, by the TARDIS, the Doctor took Rose's hands in his and looked her in the eyes. "Are you sure about this, Rose? You know...sure that you really love me and you're fine with me loving you?"

With a giggle she suddenly grasped his face with her hands and pulled him in for a long, deep kiss. When they pulled away, she answered sincerely. "Yes, of course, Doctor. I've always been ready. Ever since "run"."

He suddenly hopped away, sprinting for the TARDIS and laughing. "All right then, Rose Tyler! You just wait right there, I'll be back before you can say 'where's he got to now?'" He raced inside the TARDIS, slammed the door, and dematerialized before she could react.

"Doctor!?" she gasped.

"Oh that Doctor! Always running off! And right when you two were finally going to get together!"

"Oh shut up mum!" Rose burst out. "He's probably just gone off to take care of something I suppose…"

"Rose!? How dare you speak to me like that! I'm your mum!" Jackie gasped.

"Just leave him alone mum! Leave us alone! He's never done anything to hurt me, and he better not start now!" Rose sighed, with a slight chuckle she mumbled. "Where's he got to now…"

"WELLLLLLLLLLLLL, since you ask, right here!" The Doctor's chipper voice rang out behind them. They turned to see him approaching from the opposite direction that he had left from. Now, instead of the worn and dirty suit, he wore a finely fitted tux. Rose laughed when she saw that he still sported his ever-present trainers. He looked more healthy and cleaned up, then when they had seen him just seconds before.

"But-How!?" Jackie gasped.

"You see...time travel...such a wonderful thing for surprises! I just popped back an hour to take care of some things...actually I was a BIT early. I actually have been here for several minutes...watched you lot pull up! Now...to business." He took Rose's hands lovingly and knelt before her. "Now, Rose Tyler, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife and traveling with me through all of space and time, forever and ever? Because I love you, and I couldn't imagine my future any other way." With that he took a very tiny, very old looking wooden box out of his pocket and carefully slid it open. Inside sat a beautiful golden ring that also looked very old, but well looked after. The slim shiny golden ring was covered in nearly microscopic swirled engravings that Rose recognized as Gallifreyan, the lost language of the Time Lords. She picked it up, gingerly and scrutinized it. She beamed at the beautiful display at the peak of the ring where the golden swirls emerged as petals and a rose-shaped diamond sat embedded in the thing.

"What does it mean?" She pondered aloud, referring to the text.

"Love, eternal." He solemnly answered. "My mother, back on Gallifrey, gave me this, ages ago. She told me it was for my future. I felt a little silly about it, but now, I can see how right she was. It was for you! Because you ARE my future! Please Rose, please say yes."

With a chuckle she pulled his hands higher until she could reach, to kiss them. "Of course Doctor! Yes! I would love nothing more than to be your wife!"

He slid the ring onto her finger and stood. They pulled into a long and passionate kiss and joyous tears streamed down their faces.

The doctor pulled away and turned to Jackie. "Do you approve, Jackie? Cause we kind of need that for the next bit..."

"What do you mean 'next bit'? And of course I do!" Jackie retorted.

The Doctor pulled a worn woolen cloth out of his pocket. It was about a foot and a half in length and the colour was a beautiful blue that matched the TARDIS. "Alright Rose, my darling, take one end of this and wrap it 'round your hand." They both took an end of the cloth and wrapped their hands with it. "Now Jackie, please say "I consent and gladly give"."

"I consent and gladly give." She parroted.

"Now, Rose, I'm going to whisper something very secret and very special in your ear." He drew her close and spoke softly into her ear. He drew away several seconds later. "That was my name, my true given name. You can never repeat that to anyone, ever."

"But, it- it was beautiful! What does it mean?"

"It's Gallifreyan, language lost...it's not translatable. So there you are, Rose Tyler...you are the woman who married me!"

_And together, they flew off into time and space. Living and adventuring, saving worlds for years and years. And they danced. You may not believe the story that you have just heard, but I tell you, it IS true. For my name is Violet Jacqueline Suzanne Tyler, I am the first Time Lady of New Gallifrey, and this was the story of my parents. _

**_-THE END-_**


End file.
